Alamo Bowl

DAVE BARR threw three touchdown passes, and Jerrott Willard had three sacks and returned an interception 61 yards for a score as California routed Iowa, 37-3, late Friday night in the inaugural Alamo Bowl at San Antonio. Barr led the Golden Bears on time-consuming drives and repeatedly picked Iowa apart on third down. Willard and his blitzing teammates, meanwhile, held Iowa to 20 yards on 21 rushes.California (9-4) won its third bowl game in four years. Iowa (6-6) barely managed to get into a bowl after finishing eighth in the Big Ten without beating a team with a winning record.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - It's hard to measure just how valuable the exposure from a Bowl Championship Series game can be for a football program. From word of mouth at the water cooler to the number of eyeballs on television sets to the sweatshirts sold in the campus bookstore, a school's brand - its identity - can be redefined by earning a spot on one of the biggest stages in college football. While UCF is enjoying its first taste of this sweet, sweet life, so is Baylor. The Bears hail from a program that recently was sitting right where the Knights find themselves today.

NO. 8 MIAMI and No. 17 Arizona accepted invitations Sunday to play in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Day. The bowl bids amount to a considerable consolation prize for two teams that were national championship contenders until late in the season. Both are 9-2.''We're billing it as 'Desert Swarm Meets Hurricane Storm,' '' Fiesta Bowl executive director John Junker said. Miami will appear in a major bowl for the 11th consecutive year.ALAMO BOWLCALIFORNIA was chosen by the Alamo Bowl to represent the Pacific-10 against Iowa in the inaugural game Dec. 31, officials said.

Penn State will return the trophies it received for winning six bowl games from 1998-2011, even though the NCAA does not require it to do so. An athletic department spokesman said in a statement that, per the consent decree to NCAA sanctions, "all football team trophies won from 1998-2011 are to be returned to the awarding authority and we plan to do so. " However, the NCAA consent decree, which sanctioned Penn State's football program, refers...

College football's controversial postseason bowl coalition will change players - substituting the new Alamo Bowl for the Blockbuster Bowl - but the seven-bowl, multi-conference agreement will remain intact with few other changes.One difference that already has been agreed upon: The Associated Press' poll of writers and broadcasters won't be the only one used in the team selection process.The coalition will combine the AP's poll and the coaches' poll conducted by CNN/USA TODAY to determine a team's stature before shaping the Jan. 1 bowl picture.

CENTRAL FLORIDA cornerback/kick returner Paul Miranda will get his chance to impress NFL scouts today in the Blue-Gray Classic in Montgomery, Ala. Considered one of the nation's best kickoff returners, Miranda averaged 25.8 yards on 25 returns this season for the Golden Knights.Miranda, 6-feet and 175 pounds, first gained NFL attention this summer when pro scouts saw him run 40 yards in 4.29 seconds. Based on that timing, Miranda qualified for a $1 million insurance policy in case of catastrophic injury.

Friday's question: How many college football games do you plan to attend this season? Answer -- pct. None -- 10 1 -- 6 2 -- 10 3 -- 7 4 -- 9 5 -- 6 6 -- 8 7 -- 23 8 -- 8 9 -- 4 10 -- 4 More than 10 -- 5 Voting as of 7:30 p.m. Today's question: Of all the SEC coaches who have never won an NCAA title, who will be the first to do so? Vote now at orlandosentinel.com/collegegridiron365 Tebow tidbit The legend of Touchdown Timmy grows larger with a hefty profile in the Aug. 28 edition of the New York Times.

SAN ANTONIO -- It's not surprising to hear the answer Vernand Morency supplies when asked about his favorite play. "When the ball's in my hands, that's my favorite play," said Morency, Oklahoma State's standout running back who faced a touch Ohio State defense in the Alamo Bowl Wednesday night. The more the Cowboys have gotten away from Morency's favorite play, the more they have gotten away from their favorite result -- winning. Oklahoma State opened the season with five consecutive victories and six out of seven overall.

Florida State senior OT Alex Barron has been named one of three finalists for the 2004 Outland Award, given annually to college football's top interior lineman. The other two finalists are Oklahoma OT Jamaal Brown and Michigan C David Baas. "To be named an Outland finalist is a great honor," said Barron. "Just to be mentioned along with two great players like Jamaal and David is a great feeling. When you look back at some of the past Outland winners, you see the names of some of the best to ever play the game of football.

He faces more than his share of obstacles, but Ruffin McNeill isn't complaining. McNeill took over the East Carolina program less than two weeks before national signing day. The Pirates are coming off back-to-back Conference USA titles and the fan base has high expectations, but the East Carolina has the fewest returning starters of any team in the nation. He talked with the Orlando Sentinel about earning the head coaching job and the challenges he faces leading the Pirates.

Finally, we get to watch some real college football. The kind of hard-nosed, rock-ribbed, slobber-knocking football they play in the Southeastern Conference. Not this sissified, bastardized, defenseless version of the sport we saw in the Orange Bowl where West Virginia scored 70 on Clemson … or the Rose Bowl where Oregon beat Wisconsin 45-38 … or the Fiesta Bowl where Oklahoma State beat Stanford 41-38 … or, worst of all, the Alamo Bowl where Baylor beat Washington 67-56.

He faces more than his share of obstacles, but Ruffin McNeill isn't complaining. McNeill took over the East Carolina program less than two weeks before national signing day. The Pirates are coming off back-to-back Conference USA titles and the fan base has high expectations, but the East Carolina has the fewest returning starters of any team in the nation. He talked with the Orlando Sentinel about earning the head coaching job and the challenges he faces leading the Pirates.

Friday's question: How many college football games do you plan to attend this season? Answer -- pct. None -- 10 1 -- 6 2 -- 10 3 -- 7 4 -- 9 5 -- 6 6 -- 8 7 -- 23 8 -- 8 9 -- 4 10 -- 4 More than 10 -- 5 Voting as of 7:30 p.m. Today's question: Of all the SEC coaches who have never won an NCAA title, who will be the first to do so? Vote now at orlandosentinel.com/collegegridiron365 Tebow tidbit The legend of Touchdown Timmy grows larger with a hefty profile in the Aug. 28 edition of the New York Times.

No. 54 for Michigan State was dressed like a bride. That doesn't quite explain how the Spartans lost Friday night's Champs Sports Bowl. It should help you understand why such a game is played. The person wearing the bridal headpiece wasn't 280-pound center John Masters. It was his fiancM-ie, who also was wearing her man's jersey. Katrina Grantham seemed to be enjoying herself, even if much of America wants to annul events like the Champs Bowl. You've heard the griping: There are too many lame bowls and too few good teams.

WHO: Penn State (8-4) vs. Texas A&M (7-5) KICKOFF: 8 p.m., Alamodome in San Antonio TV: ESPN THE LINE: Penn State by 5 THE BUZZ: Statistically, Penn State is better, but Texas A&M has nothing but momentum after punctuating the regular season with a 38-30 win over Texas on Nov. 23. The Nittany Lions went 2-3 on the road this season and will have to weather a crowd of Aggies in San Antonio. Penn State Coach Joe Paterno will coach his 500th college game. Gary Darnell is Texas A&M's interim coach after Dennis Franchione resigned.

SAN ANTONIO -- It's not surprising to hear the answer Vernand Morency supplies when asked about his favorite play. "When the ball's in my hands, that's my favorite play," said Morency, Oklahoma State's standout running back who faced a touch Ohio State defense in the Alamo Bowl Wednesday night. The more the Cowboys have gotten away from Morency's favorite play, the more they have gotten away from their favorite result -- winning. Oklahoma State opened the season with five consecutive victories and six out of seven overall.

Penn State will return the trophies it received for winning six bowl games from 1998-2011, even though the NCAA does not require it to do so. An athletic department spokesman said in a statement that, per the consent decree to NCAA sanctions, "all football team trophies won from 1998-2011 are to be returned to the awarding authority and we plan to do so. " However, the NCAA consent decree, which sanctioned Penn State's football program, refers...

No. 54 for Michigan State was dressed like a bride. That doesn't quite explain how the Spartans lost Friday night's Champs Sports Bowl. It should help you understand why such a game is played. The person wearing the bridal headpiece wasn't 280-pound center John Masters. It was his fiancM-ie, who also was wearing her man's jersey. Katrina Grantham seemed to be enjoying herself, even if much of America wants to annul events like the Champs Bowl. You've heard the griping: There are too many lame bowls and too few good teams.

Florida State senior OT Alex Barron has been named one of three finalists for the 2004 Outland Award, given annually to college football's top interior lineman. The other two finalists are Oklahoma OT Jamaal Brown and Michigan C David Baas. "To be named an Outland finalist is a great honor," said Barron. "Just to be mentioned along with two great players like Jamaal and David is a great feeling. When you look back at some of the past Outland winners, you see the names of some of the best to ever play the game of football.